DETROIT (Sept. 1) — A lawsuit General Motors Corp. filed against Goodyear has moved to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from the Macomb County (Mich.) Circuit Court.
GM claims Goodyear violated its contract with the auto maker in July 2006 when it demanded price increases as a prerequisite for continuing to ship tires to supply the GM plant in Delta Township, Mich. This stoppage would have crippled a large portion of GM's SUV and commercial truck production at Delta Township and elsewhere, the lawsuit claims.
Goodyear and GM struck a deal Aug. 4 for the tire maker to resume shipments to GM, but this did not stop the lawsuit. In a statement, Goodyear said it was disappointed that GM chose to sue, and said its complaint was unfounded. GM seeks unspecified damages, legal fees and other costs against Goodyear.
There are no court dates set as yet for the federal suit, a Goodyear spokesman said.